TORONTO - A coalition that advocates for cancer patients has released its annual report card, calling for electronic health records for patients, bans everywhere on smoking in cars with kids and more funding for cancer drugs.
An editorial in the wide-ranging report from the Cancer Advocacy Coalition of Canada says there has been progress in fighting cancer, but many Canadians with the disease are still waiting for solutions - in particular those who would benefit from a national catastrophic drug program.
It also urges the provinces to resolve delays in funding new cancer drugs, and points to inequities in access to these drugs across Canada.
As for secondhand smoke, the report notes that six provinces and one territory have adopted laws to ban smoking in cars with children, and it invites the other jurisdictions to climb on board.
The report also details the experiences of an Ontario woman with breast cancer who has access to her electronic health records while undergoing treatment in Toronto.
Her mother in Prince Edward Island, also diagnosed with breast cancer, doesn't have electronic records - but if they existed, it would be easier to share updates on her condition with her four grown children living in different parts of the world.
The report also says patients are waiting to reap the benefits of research into biomarkers that improve the understanding of malignant cells.
Testing more patients for biomarkers could lead to treatments being targeted only at those who are likely to benefit, while sparing others from needless radiation and chemotherapy.
